Ch.149149. The Final Day

# Amon’s Dungeon Conquest Begins Again

As with anything, the first time is the hardest, but it gets easier from the second time onward.

By the fifth time, it had become as routine as a daily chore.

“Where’s the next dungeon?”

The day after clearing the sixth dungeon, Amon asked Sonia.

“The southern district. Why are there so many dungeons in this small city?”

According to information tortured out of demons, there were a total of 12 dungeons that could potentially be the mausoleum.

Finding them wasn’t difficult since they just needed to track the magic concealing each dungeon entrance.

The problem was luck.

“Another dud.”

The seventh dungeon was also a bust.

Even the demons didn’t know which of the 12 dungeons was the mausoleum.

Their goal was merely to prevent entry rather than seize the mausoleum, so it didn’t matter to them.

As a result, Amon’s party had no choice but to visit all 12 dungeons themselves.

“Looks like a dud?”

“Yeah. But let’s clear it anyway.”

The eighth dungeon.

As they went through the 12 dungeons, the monster concepts kept changing.

Since heroes and blasphemers wouldn’t be buried in the same place, they could tell a dungeon was a dud just by making eye contact with the monsters at the entrance.

If they were purely concerned with efficiency, there was no need to clear each dungeon.

But Amon’s party deliberately cleared even the duds.

The first reason was to build up their skills before entering the mausoleum,

“Blasphemerrrrr!!!”

And the second was because their party leader refused to back down in front of heretics.

Like the fake saint of the Higgjen Group, he strongly insisted on taking the head of each dungeon boss at least once.

Thanks to this, whenever they discovered a dungeon, they proceeded to clear it.

They gained many rewards in the process.

“An essence!!”

Sunwoo held up a golden orb, rejoicing like a child.

A legendary essence had appeared in the ninth dungeon.

It was <Rotation>.

It had the effect of increasing speed when rotating the body or arms and preventing dizziness.

There was only one person who could use this essence.

“Me? Me???”

“The rest of us don’t need to rotate.”

It was decided that Sunwoo would take the essence.

Sonia used guns so she had no use for it, and Kathy used a spear which was more about linear attacks than rotation.

Sunhwa’s sword did trace arcs, but her style involved minimal movement as she blocked and returned enemy attacks.

And Amon was refusing all essences to conserve his mental energy before the mausoleum.

By process of elimination, only Sunwoo remained.

Sunwoo applied the <Rotation> essence to his sword and tilted his head.

“So this makes me super strong?”

Sunwoo performed a whirlwind with his sword.

The party members looked at him with unimpressed eyes.

“Wow…”

“That looks weak.”

“Doesn’t seem very powerful?”

Amon, Kathy, and Sonia stabbed daggers into Sunwoo’s heart in that order.

“Ugh!”

“That doesn’t seem right.”

“Gack.”

His sister’s assessment was the final blow, causing Sunwoo to fall to his knees.

Afterward, the party spent time researching the usefulness of the rotation essence.

“Theoretically, this should be the strongest, right?”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

During the research, Sunwoo spun his arms like windmills.

It was a technique he devised based on the idea that rotation increases speed and destructive power, but it was immediately rejected.

Obviously, no one would let themselves get hit by such an attack.

“So rather than consciously using it, it’s better to just make larger movements?”

After extensive research, they concluded that rotation increased power even when tracing an arc rather than a full circle, and greatly reduced recoil.

Deliberately spinning in a whirlwind was obviously stupid, but it did help with focusing power.

Shwik!

His curved sword cut through an iron bar with no resistance, tracing a beautiful semicircle.

That was the extent of the curved sword essence’s utility.

Of course, Sunwoo wasn’t satisfied with just that.

“Haah!”

Determined to get the most out of his essence, Sunwoo continued researching rotational attacks.

In the process, he developed techniques like dash-and-spin slash and somersault slash, but the responses were cold.

“Sunwoo.”

“What, brother-in-law?”

“Using trash moves to make trash plays is just trash behavior.”

“Kuh…”

After such incidents, the party’s dungeon conquest continued.

The tenth dungeon.

“Ugh… fishy smell.”

After defeating a giant fly in a damp swamp, another essence dropped.

This time it was unique grade.

The party examined it with anticipation.

The result was…

“Um… Levitation?”

Sonia examined the essence with a somewhat disappointed expression.

Amon and Kathy’s expressions were also ambiguous.

Only Sunhwa, who lacked knowledge about essences in the party, was puzzled by their reaction.

“Levitation? Isn’t that flying? Why are you all reacting like that?”

“That’s flight.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Levitation just lets you jump high from the ground and stay airborne longer. Comparing it to Amon’s Sky Step…”

In Amon’s case, he could ignore gravity up to 3 times, while Levitation only ignored about 80 percent of gravity.

Obviously, Amon didn’t need this essence since he had a superior version.

“I already have wings, so…”

Sonia, who had flight ability, was also excluded.

“I don’t think I have much use for it?”

“Me neither.”

Kathy and Sunhwa, who rarely needed to jump, were also excluded.

Naturally, Sunwoo was left.

“What? Why do I feel like I’m getting the leftovers?”

Despite saying that, Sunwoo accepted it willingly.

And so, Sunwoo applied the essences <Levitation> and <Rotation> to his sword and shoes respectively.

The dungeon exploration continued afterward.

Then one day, during the 11th exploration, Sunwoo declared he would solo the boss to test a new technique.

“You’ve been practicing something strange in the training ground every dawn. Did you complete something?”

“Just watch.”

The scene Sunwoo showed left everyone in awe.

“Even I couldn’t do that.”

“I have to admit, that’s impressive.”

“Wow…”

He rotated continuously throughout the battle.

Since he didn’t get dizzy or nauseous from rotating, Sunwoo’s rotations became faster and faster.

But he didn’t just stand in place spinning like a top.

He used the <Levitation> ability to rotate vertically like a blue hedgehog while jumping up, and also used his flash step ability while rotating horizontally.

In other words, he was evading and attacking simultaneously.

“He actually did it…”

Amon showed his respect in many ways.

Not only was the effort impressive, but honestly, as a man, it looked cool.

“I never dreamed you’d use flash step like that.”

It felt strange seeing the technique he taught being incorporated into this stylish skill.

When Sunwoo finally stopped his relentless rotations, the bull boss of the 11th dungeon had fallen.

“How was that?”

Click

Sunwoo grinned as he sheathed his sword.

The party silently gave him their praise.

And so Sunwoo found his own path.

*

Thud!

The giant snake of the 12th dungeon fell to the ground.

They already knew upon entering this dungeon, but this was also a dud.

“This can’t be right…”

If even the 12th dungeon was a dud, it meant there was no mausoleum candidate.

Sonia tracked the demons’ magic again to check if she had made a mistake, but the response was the same.

“There are only 12 in Jerusalem.”

That could only mean one thing.

“The mausoleum was created somewhere even Goetia doesn’t know about…”

Sonia looked at Kathy, grasping at straws.

But Kathy just shook her head.

“I can’t see it. Just like when I saw Amon before. The mausoleum must have some special power on it.”

Even her future sight couldn’t peer into it.

The party sat down dejectedly.

Meanwhile, Sunwoo, who had been carefully examining the map, called to the others.

“Wait. Isn’t this a circle?”

“I guess all that spinning is making you see circles everywhere.”

“No, brother-in-law. It’s really a circle! Look.”

Amon skeptically checked the map Sunwoo was pointing at.

As Sunwoo said, connecting all the dungeons they had cleared formed a magic circle.

“…”

“Doesn’t it seem like the mausoleum would be at the center?”

“You kept spinning and finally did something useful.”

“Come on, seriously.”

Sunwoo tried to deny Amon’s words, but couldn’t think of anything to say.

It was true that after practicing sword techniques with circles in mind for the past few months, he was seeing circles in everything.

This case might just be an extension of that.

So instead of a lengthy excuse, Sunwoo chose silence.

*

The party headed to the center of the circle Sunwoo had discovered.

The center marked on the map was an empty lot.

A large tent had been set up to block it off from the outside.

Kathy led the way inside.

“Buying it wasn’t difficult. For some reason, any building constructed here would collapse.”

In the past, it was said to be sacred land and purchase was impossible, but after hundreds of years with nothing to see and no profit to be made, the government lifted the ban.

As soon as it was lifted, people rushed to buy the empty lot, but the organizations that purchased it would go bankrupt, or buildings constructed on it would collapse.

At most, they could pitch tents, but that was it. It eventually became known as cursed land.

“I don’t believe in superstitions, but just in case, I bought it as an individual.”

According to Kathy, there had been no signs of a curse so far.

The party tilted their heads as they explored the area.

During this, Sonia, the divine magic specialist, recalled something.

“Come to think of it, weren’t the 12 dungeons in the form of a magic circle?”

Sonia checked the map again.

Eventually, she deduced the secret of this empty lot.

“This is a sealing spell. The 12 dungeons are sealing this empty lot.”

“That means…”

“Our conquest of the 12 dungeons wasn’t in vain.”

Amon’s face brightened at her words.

Sunwoo, who was listening, joined the conversation, happy as if it were his own achievement.

“Let’s get some dynami—”

“Ahem.”

Amon gave him a warning look.

Sunwoo, realizing his mistake, corrected himself.

“We should find a way to excavate without damaging it.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that.”

She pointed to a stone floor sitting conspicuously in the empty lot.

When she dug beside the stone floor, engraved patterns were revealed.

“Doesn’t this look like an altar buried in the soil?”

“Do we need to cast some magic on the altar?”

“I don’t know? Since the seal is broken, maybe we just need to do something on the altar.”

Saying that, she tried a few divine magic spells on the stone.

Suddenly, she clutched her chest and collapsed.

“Sonia!”

Amon caught her before she fell.

In his arms, Sonia was sweating and gasping for breath.

“Death angel…”

“What?”

“I saw a death angel.”

She couldn’t describe it any further.

Amon silently nursed her until she could stand again.

After some time, Sonia, with her head resting on Amon’s lap, spoke.

“I’m okay now.”

“That’s good. Then let’s—”

“No, you should go alone.”

“…!”

Amon’s eyes widened as they met hers.

Sonia sighed and said:

“You’ve been fidgeting with something in your pocket since we arrived. You were preparing to sneak away before I collapsed. You know how to enter the mausoleum, don’t you?”

“I wasn’t trying to deceive—”

“I know. You were going to pretend not to know today and enter tomorrow.”

Amon didn’t make any more excuses in the face of her deduction.

“I’m sorry. But I really didn’t know the location of the mausoleum. I only realized it after you discovered the altar.”

“It’s okay. I’m not upset.”

Sonia raised herself and caressed Amon’s cheek.

Golden eyes that seemed to pierce his soul looked at him.

“I’m fine now. You know I’m not the same as before.”

“…”

“Go. And when you come back, tell me about it.”

At those words, Amon closed his eyes tightly.

When he opened them again, he looked into Sonia’s eyes with determination.

“I’ll be back.”

“Come back safely.”

“Ahem. You haven’t forgotten me, have you?”

Kathy interrupted the two.

“You noticed too?”

Amon gave a bitter smile and linked pinkies with her.

“I’ll be back.”

He didn’t forget to say goodbye to Sunhwa as well.

“Should I come back before the tea gets cold?”

“Is that possible?”

“No.”

“Take your time and come back safely.”

After exchanging jokes in Korean, he said goodbye to her too.

Thump.

“Men don’t need mushy goodbyes, right?”

“Just don’t make my sister a widow, brother-in-law.”

Sunwoo ended it with a simple pat on the shoulder.

Amon then began to dig deeply beside the stone floor, or what was presumed to be an altar.

As he worked alone, he explained to his companions:

“This isn’t an altar, it’s a coffin. A stone coffin. If you try to construct something here, you’d have to break or dig up this coffin, which would bring calamity.”

After digging sufficiently around the stone coffin, Amon lifted the lid.

Thud-

The coffin opened with a heavy sound.

It was empty inside.

While his companions were puzzled, Amon asked Sonia:

“Could you cover me after I get inside?”

He could have covered it himself if necessary.

But he specifically asked her because—

“I want you to watch over it until I return.”

She didn’t ask how he would breathe, why he was going in, or how he would get out.

This time, she had decided to trust him.

She nodded.

Amon then entered the coffin.

Before the lid closed, he took out a black ampoule given to him by the doctor he met in Europe.

– “Are you trying to die once?”

Recalling what the doctor had said at the time, he muttered to himself:

“So I’ve come this far.”

He drank the black liquid – <Dew from Mecca’s Sacred Black Stone>.

Shhh.

The stone coffin closed around that time.

In the gradually darkening coffin, Amon whispered alone:

“The saint said, on the third day I shall rise…”

Boom.

Not long after the stone coffin closed, his consciousness faded.

When Amon regained consciousness,

He was on a mountaintop with a black storm raging.

‘This is…’

The mountain where the first protagonist climbed to retrieve the Ten Commandments tablet to break the saint’s skull.

And…

‘Sadin’s Mausoleum.’

Boom!

Amidst the striking lightning, a translucent temple revealed itself.

***

Right after Amon arrived at the mausoleum.

“Huh-!”

Demons don’t need sleep.

Therefore, for Agares, sleep was nothing more than a hobby.

Yet he, the second-ranked demon of Goetia, jumped out of bed, throwing off his blanket.

He rubbed the goosebumps that had risen all over his body and shuddered.

“Azrael…! That bastard…!”

The one who betrayed them when the world was on the brink of destruction in the past.

It was unmistakably that person’s energy.

“Crunch…”

Amon.

That man had finally discovered it.

“We must hurry…”

After consecutive plan failures, few allies remained in Goetia.

But he needed to gather them and head to Jerusalem immediately.

If by any chance, Amon were to inherit that traitor’s will…

Crunch.

Agares told himself repeatedly that the reason his heart was racing was anger, not fear.

He was never afraid of that traitor’s blade.

“Everyone. Come to the meeting room.”

Agares summoned Goetia using his authority as a high-ranking demon.

But strangely, no one responded to the summons.

“?”

As he was puzzled, his pet mecha-crocodile suddenly growled lowly.

Anxiety transmitted through their connected nerves, but Agares denied it.

“What are you afraid—”

Squelch.

At that moment, something sharp pierced Agares’ chest.

The old man realized by touch that it was a hairy leg.

Agares looked with furious eyes at the one who had attacked him from behind.

“Ba—el—”

Bael, Beelzebub, Goetia’s number one, King of Flies, Lord of Demons.

Many epithets came to mind, but Agares called him this:

“Baal-!”

Splat!

The middle-aged man called Baal indifferently pulled the fly leg out of Agares’ chest.

Wiping off the flesh by rubbing the two fly legs protruding from his back, he pronounced to Agares:

“We cannot be ravaged like this, old friend.”

“What are you—”

“We must proceed with the ritual. Our comrades will fill in as the lacking sacrifices.”

Baal then headed toward the altar with Agares’ heart.

Collapsed on the conference table, Agares laughed softly as he watched Baal’s retreating back.

“Heh…”

“Hmm?”

“Heh heh… So that’s what it was.”

“Do you have any last words?”

“…”

No answer came.

Agares closed his eyes peacefully, with an expression of having gained some insight.

Baal, feeling uneasy, captured Agares’ soul, imprisoned it in his heart, and headed for the altar.

As he went to the altar, the remaining mecha-crocodile deleted the information stored in its memory.

As if telling Baal, who had killed its master, to go to hell.

<Deleting records about individual: Amon>

<Deletion complete>

Eventually, the mecha-crocodile shut down its functions.

Whether due to an error or not, the residual data of Agares within it monologued:

[As I thought, there was no predetermined prophecy from the beginning. Even Solomon, called the King of Wisdom, can be wrong at tim…]

Deletion complete.

And so Goetia was annihilated, leaving only one demon.

No one could know what consequences this would bring.